A federal survey found that one-third of respondents “engaged in non-recommended high-risk practices” involving bleach and household cleaners “with the intent of preventing” COVID-19 transmission. The new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, released on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the practices included using “bleach on food products, applying household cleaning and disinfectant products to skin, and inhaling or ingesting cleaners and disinfectants,” according to the report.

President Trump received significant criticism after he suggested, during a coronavirus briefing, that the injection of powerful cleaning agents could be explored as a possible cure for the disease. Calls to poison centers in regards to such exposures had increased since the onset of the pandemic. According to the report, public health authorities must work to educate the public about the dangers of these practices, as well as the risks of mixing bleach solutions with vinegar or ammonia, exposures of children to hand sanitizers, and the risk of ingestion from improperly stored hand sanitizers.